Currently, the operation of installing unlicensed Windows or Office for a small fee is being provided by many computer stores as a popular service. However, behind that fee is the risk of software copyright infringement and may lead to criminal liability.
In June 2026, the Investigation Police Agency of Phu Tho Provincial Police initiated a criminal case for the crime of "Infringing copyright and related rights", and at the same time conducted an emergency search of 5 locations in Hanoi and Phu Tho that are computer businesses, providing services to install unlicensed Windows and Microsoft Office software.
According to the investigating agency, the legal copyright price of the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office application suite currently ranges from 4 - 9 million VND per computer. With the number of violating devices detected, damage to the rights holder is estimated to be up to tens of billions of VND.
The incident raises many people's questions: How can the installation of unlicensed Windows and Office for profit be handled and what is the highest fine?
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Do Xuan Thuan (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) said that not every case of using unlicensed software is criminally handled.
For individuals or organizations providing services to install, copy, and distribute illegal software for business purposes, profit or causing great damage to copyright owners, they may be prosecuted for criminal liability under Article 225 of the amended 2015 Penal Code.
Accordingly, a person who is not allowed by the copyright and related rights owner to infringe upon copyright and related rights being protected in Vietnam on a commercial scale or to illegally profit from 50 - 300 million VND or cause damage to the copyright and related rights owner from 100 - less than 500 million VND or violating goods worth from 100 - less than 500 million VND, shall be fined from 50 - 300 million VND or subject to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years for one of the following acts: Copying works, audio recordings, video recordings; distributing to the public copies of works, audio recordings, video recordings.
In case of organized crime, committing acts twice or more, illegally profiting from 300 million VND or more, causing damage from 500 million VND or more or violating goods worth from 500 million VND or more, the penalty can be up to 1 billion VND or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.
In addition to the main penalty, the offender may also be fined additionally from 20 - 200 million VND, banned from holding positions, banned from practicing professions or doing certain jobs for a period of 1 - 5 years.
For individual users, lawyer Do Xuan Thuan said that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the act of using unlicensed software and the act of doing business and providing services to install illegal software for profit. Handling also depends on the nature and severity of the violation and the grounds verified by functional agencies in each specific case.
In cases where the elements constituting a crime are not sufficient, violating individuals and organizations may still be administratively sanctioned according to the provisions of Decree 341/2025/ND-CP. The penalty for individuals may be up to 50 million VND depending on the amount of illegal profits obtained, damage caused or the value of violating goods. Violating organizations are subject to double the penalty.
In addition to fines, violators may also be forced to remove copies of violating software on the network environment and return illegal profits to the rights holder if revenue arises from the violation.
Besides legal risks, lawyer Do Xuan Thuan also warned that the use of illegally activated versions of Windows and Office also poses many risks to information security. These software can be installed with malware, spyware, creating conditions for cyber attacks, data theft and infringing upon the secrets of agencies, businesses as well as individual users.
To thoroughly solve this violation situation, tightening inspection and sanctioning measures alone is not enough. It is necessary to implement synchronous solutions: both preventing the source of violations and building a responsible consumption culture to avoid legal risks as well as information security risks.
